My life
by NightOwl77
Summary: Annie's life is normal before she meets Finnick Odair for the first time. Her life also changes when the reaping day for district 4 comes and something unexpected happens.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"That's impossible. Every girl in Panem wishes that he would notice or even talk to them. You must be sick." My best friend Melva places her hand on my forehead, obviously teasing me. Ugh. Finnick Odair. Why is everyone so obsessed with him? He is just some self-absorbed, vile, and untrustworthy 18 year old.

"Trust me", I say, "I feel fine". I smirk at her as she sarcastically scowls at me.

"And you shouldn't judge, Annie. You don't even know him."

"Well neither do you, yet, you love anything to do with him!", I spit back at her, impressed with my comeback. "And I have enough information to judge him with!"

"Ok", she says smiling strangely at me. "Do tell me this "information". I'm interested to hear this", she says, that smile remaining on her face.

"Fine", I mumble under my breath. Here goes nothing. "He is always checking girls out in the hallways at school, using that seductive smile that bugs the hell out of me. Every day he is flirting with girls, probably not even knowing, or caring for that matter, who they are. All he cares about are the looks and the bodies of the girls he lures into his trap. I don't think he has ever even thought about looking in my direction, but every boy in school ignores me so that doesn't bug me too much." HA! I wonder what she has to say about that information! "And the rumors", I quickly add, almost forgetting.

"Rumors?", she asks. Hmm, I thought she would have known them by now.

"Apparently", I say in a hushed voice, "he has a whole bunch of "girlfriends" in the capitol, if you know what I mean."

I watch the look on her face, unchanged. WHAT! I thought that bucket of juicy info would totally end her obsession over him. But no, she still pushed on, loyally defending Finnick Odair like a true fan girl. I hate that.

"Still", she says, undeterred," you shouldn't judge him. You don't know him." She says, even though she doesn't know him either.

I don't even bother having huge obsessions with boys that I know would never have the slightest interest in me. Especially Finnick Odair. He is strong, tall and attractive. He is a victor. He has wavy goldenish hair and bulging muscles. He is richer than anyone in district 4. And I am Annie Cresta, the girl with almost black hair, pale skin and a body with barely any meat on it. All the other 17 year olds I know have amazing bodies. Not me. And let's not forget that I live in a boat. It isn't tiny, but it isn't huge. The only things I actually like about myself are my eyes. They are a dark sea green colour. People have told that they are mesmerizing, but I wouldn't go that far.

The school bell rings, interrupting my train of thought. Melva isn't here. She probably left to get her things ready for class when I was lost in thought. Oh no! Class! If I am late for it one more time I get detention.

I race to my locker, and fail to unlock it three times in a row. I'm panicking now and it doesn't make it easier. When I get the stupid locker open I pull out my books and binders and start running down the hallway. I don't even care that my locker is still wide open. The only thing going through my head right now is "MUST GET TO CLASS, MUST GET TO CLASS". As I run down the nearly empty hallway I look down at my feet for one split second and smash into some other idiot rushing to class like me. As I quickly try to gather my things off the floor, not really knowing if they were the other kids stuff, I don't bother to see who I smashed into. As I am about to stand up I hear a familiar voice that I hate say to me "Hey! Wait up!".

I turn around slowly hoping that it is not the person I think it is.

"You almost forgot your pencil" he says with a seducing smile. I have never actually looked into his eyes before. They're amazing.

When I come back to my senses I realize who I have been staring creepily at.

Great. It just had to be Finnick didn't it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"I'm Finnick", he says with a grin. As if I didn't know that already.

"I'm Annie", I say bitterly as I snatch my pencil out of his hand. He just stands there analyzing me as if I was some sort of alien. I make sure not to make eye contact with him; I wouldn't want to start staring at him like some sort of freak again. He casually smiles at me and crouches down to get the rest of his things. I am just standing there like an idiot for no reason, like I am waiting for something. He gets the same thought apparently.

"Am I missing something?", he asks, obviously confused as to why I am just standing there in front of him while he picks up his things.

"Oh! Sorry I just… umm…." I don't know what to say! "I gotta go.", I finally get out. As I start walking towards the office, knowing that I am really late now and have no choice, I can feel my cheeks burn with embarrassment. I think I am free from that major fail with Finnick when I hear him call me.

"Hey, Annie wait!" So I see we are now on a first name basis apparently. Ah crap, just what I DIDN'T want.

"Yeah", I shout back carelessly. He has somehow caught up to me in the past 5 seconds.

"We're both late now so we might as well walk to the office together, right?" And there's that flirtatious smile of his. I was wondering when that was gonna appear.

"Yeah sure", I say a bit too sarcastically. I hope he doesn't notice. Yup, he noticed.

"What? Are you saying you don't want to walk to the office with me, Finnick Odair?" There's the smile. Again.

"Of course I want to walk to the office with you! You're Finnick Odair! I would have to be mad to turn down that offer!", I say, really sarcastic this time. He just laughs. Is it really that funny, Finnick?

"You know Annie, you're different", he says. He almost sounds as if he's telling the truth. I then realize we have completely stopped walking.

"Oh yeah? And why is that Finnick?"

"Maybe it's the way you sound as if you'd rather be talking to a wall than me or how you don't drool over me like most girls do. Or maybe it's because I find your eyes truly mesmerizing."

Did he seriously just say that to me? Before I can do anything to stop it I am blushing violently. When he notices me blushing he just laughs and then winks at me. Who does he think he is? I am trying hard to be mad but I find it really hard to be for some reason. Oh god. Am I enjoying this little conversation we are having?

I am really embarrassed so I try to change the subject. As I do so I start walking again.

"So… you excited for the reaping tomorrow?" Did I seriously just ask him if he was excited for it? Wow. I am a total wreck right now.

He gives me a quizzical look and then answers "Well I am quite curious to see who I will be mentoring this year… other than that, no, I am not excited."

"Right. Why would you be?" I say just as we arrive to the office.

The principal just stares at us with his evil eyes as he eats a muffin.

"Where have you two been?!", he shouts angrily, muffin bits flying out of his mouth as he does so. Finnick and I just laugh at this, uncontrollably. As we laugh Finnick stares at me and I stare at him. We realize the awkwardness of this and turn back to the principal.

"DETENTION! FOR THE BOTH OF YOU! AT LUNCH TODAY! He shouts louder this time even more muffin coming out of the whole in his face. Gross.

"See you at lunch butter fingers.", Finnick says as he winks at me and walks off. He is obviously referring to our little "accident". For some reason I find myself comfortable in his company. This can't be good.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Lunch is about to start and I find myself actually caring about the way I look. Dammit Finnick! No. I don't care what I look like, especially with Finnick.

As I start walking down the hallway towards the detention room, I pass Melvas locker, ninja style. When I showed up late to class this morning she gave me this look that I understood completely- _I am gonna find out why you were later to class than usual. Somethings going on and I will find out._

As I try to sneak past her locker my plan fails miserably.

"Annie!", she shouts. Crap. "What the hell happened today, why were you so late? ", she asks way too agressively.

"Nothing, I just ran into some idiot on my way to class. He made me so late that I had to go to the office. Now if you'll excuse me, I have detention to attend."

Phew. Now that I have gotten that over with I can-

"Who was the boy?", she smirks at me as she says this. Double crap.

"Ummmm... It was Finnick Odair." I cringe as it comes out, knowing what comes next.

"OH MY GOD, ANNIE!", she almost screams as her jaw practically drops to the floor.

"Shhhh! It's no big deal, Melva, calm down. I gotta go." I say as I turn around and start walking towards detention again.

"Have fun!", she ads, smirking.

As I arrive at the door I take a deep breath. Why am I doing this? I hate Finnick Odairs guts. I couldn't care less what he thinks of me. And when this is over I will just go back to my normal life and he will go back to his. That will happen, right?

I put my hand over the door nob as I get lost in thought once more.

Surely there will be more people then just Finnick and I in detention today. There must be. Well I will just have to find out.

I slowly turn the door nob and step in.

"Hey butter fingers.", he says as he paints on that smile I hate. I look around. Oh no! There's no one else here but Finnick and I!

"Whats up?", he says in a very relaxed tone. I can tell by the way he props up his feet on a chair and leans back, almost as if this is his home, that he does this often.

He watches me from the back of the room, amused, as I walk in with a pile of books I intend to study, trip on the leg of a desk and almost fall on my face. I place my books on a desk in the front of the room, pull myself together and manage to say "Nothing much, just gonna study." What is happening to me?

"Study?"

"Yeah. Unlike you I have to actually try to get good marks in school.", I say flatly to him. He looks the tiniest bit hurt. Whatever. He deserves it.

I sit down, my back facing him, and start to study. I actually start making some progress when I feel something small and round hit the back of my neck. I feel around for it, find it and look at it. Anger wells up in me. Gross. It was a spitball.

I turn around and see him laughing. Fine. I grab a pencil and chuck it at his face. It hit him square in the forehead, right where I wanted it to. He looks shocked for a second and then grabs a wad of paper, crumples it up and chucks it at my face. I can't help but laugh as we both grab whatever we can find and chuck it at eachother. We are both laughing hysterically now. We are also standing up. We continue this little war for what seems like forever, every minute getting a little closer to one another.

We both look at the floor between us and see that there is one solitary pencil left, lying there waiting to be picked up and thrown. Automatically we both dive at it, pushing and shoving eachother away from it. We eventually stop killing eachother and just lie one the floor laughing. I realize how close together we are and stand up a little to quickly, slipping on the pencil. I land on Finnick and we both start laughing again. We both notice how we are now just staring at eachother, me being on top of him. His hands are around my waist, they were probably there right when I landed on him, supporting me.

"Uhh..." I say just as the bell is ringing for our next set of classes. We both get up, slightly giggling. He keeps his hands on my waist. Why am I not Doing anything?!

"Well", he says, taking his hands off my waist. "I should get going. I guess I'll see you around, right?" He winks at me.

"Umm, probably.", I say bitterly, realizing that I do not like him at all. Or do I? No, I don't.

I grab my books and rush out of the class, knowing that his eyes were fixed on me the whole time. For some reason, I can't help smiling.

**Author's note- Hey! This is my first fan fiction ever so I will try my best to update it as much as possible. And if you like it please review it! Thank you for reading!**

**Also a special thanks to my beta to my amazingly awesome beta Snapstle. I think thats how you spell it.:)  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

I sat back in my chair and stared at the ceiling. School had ended and I was now at home, in the living room of our house boat. My two brothers, Desmond who was 19 and Brett who was 20, where also there, chatting up a storm. But my parents weren't. I never knew either of them. My brothers say that my mother died while giving birth to me and my father left them three years before I was born. I hate my father because of this. I just wish I had the chance to know and live my mother, Brett says that she would sing them songs, even when they woke her up in the middle of he night, just to make them feel safe.

I was about to attempt to get some real studying done when we heard a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!", shouted Desmond, even though we were in the same room as him. I knew as soon as he opened the door that there was a boy on the other side of it. Both of my brothers were so protective of me, I couldn't even glance at a boy without them wanting to go and beat him up. I could tell there was a boy there because Desmond immediatley stood up completely straight, creating the illusion that he was strong. Really, he wasn't that strong.

"Can I help you?", he said with a harsh tone. Brett obviously figured out that there was a boy there because he walked over to the door and stood just like Desmond. I wonder who it was.

"Hi. I'm looking for Annie. Is she here?" I knew that voice. Brett glanced at me and whispered,

"Why is Finnick Odair asking about you?", he asked very accusingly.

I stood up and walked to the door. As soon as he saw me he let out a sigh of relief, as if my presence made him less intimidated by my brothers. I could understand that. I quickly gave Desmond and Brett a look that clearly stated "Back off". I think they understood because they did, but very slowly.

"Hey butter fingers", he said, giving me his signature smile.

"Uhh, hi... What are you doing here?"

"You forgot your book in detention.", he said as he held the book out infront of him. That's weird. I grabbed all of my books and I don't even own anything like the book he was holding out. Then I realized something. He knew that wasn't my book. Ugh.

"That's not my book"

"Oh, it isn't? Darn!", he said sarcastically with a grin.

I just glared at him. After a couple seconds of me glaring he looked uncomfortable.

"Well", he said seductively, "Since I am here and you are here, wanna go for a walk?"

A walk? I am not going to walk with that creep. I would rather die than have to walk and-

"Sure". Did I just say that? What the hell has happened to me? I hate him yet I seem to continue to spend time with him.

He steps aside so I can pass by. As we start walking I keep telling myself how much I hate myself. But I can't turn back now. I hate myself.

**Authors note- Sorry for the cliff hanger and short chapter. I will try to update as soon as possible! hope you like it so far! And please review if you do! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors note: Sorry it took me so long to update! I will be updating a lot more this coming week! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5**

Silence. That's all there has been in the past five minutes. Just silence. And it's getting quite awkward. Just as I think I am going to lose it, Finnick finally decides to say something.

"So, what's with the over protective bothers? Did I do something or...?"

"Oh, they've been over protective like that ever since I was born. Probably because my parents aren't around anymore to protect me." As I say this I am fighting to keep in the tears that are threatening to spill. My attempt obviously isn't working because Finnick just looks at me, sympathy written across his face. Hmm. I didn't know a jerk like Finnick Odair could have sympathy. He's probably faking.

"I'm sorry about... your parents, Annie.", he says. He is good at pretending to be sympathetic. It's almost as if he isn't faking at all. A tear drips down my face and I turn away and try to hide it. I am not convincing what so ever.

"Hey, look at me", he says as he grabs my shoulders and turns me so we are face to face. "Don't be sad." He wipes the tears off of my cheeks. His voice is soothing and for some reason I feel safe and comfortable when I am near him.

"But how?", I manage to choke through my tears. I look into his amazing green eyes.

"When I was little," he starts,"My dad died when he was fishing out at sea. He was my hero. I miss him so much. And when I was 14 and I won the games, a couple weeks after I came home my mother disappeared." Anger and sadness filled his face, yet, his eyes didn't even water. He isn't just strong on the outside I guess.

"But how do you keep away the sadness and guilt?", I choke through more tears as he gently wipes them away.

"I found a distraction. Something that keeps my mind occupied. Do you know any knots?" I just look at him, perplexed.

"Um, actually, I know quite a few", I say, kind of proud. He smiles at me, but it's not his normal annoying smile. I kind of like this one though. No! Stop it Annie! He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a short rope. He hands it to me. Should I take it?

"Take it, I've got a whole bunch. All I do is when I feel guilty, or sad, or anxious, I tie some knots, untie them, then tie some more. It really does help, Annie."

I am amazed by this. It's genius! I take the rope from him and actually smile. With teeth showing. I NEVER do that. We continue to walk down a path that heads for the docks. Sometimes I like to just sit with my eyes closed, and feel the ocean breeze. One of the few things I actually love about district 4 is the ocean.

When we approach the docks I immediatley take of my sandals and sit on the edge of a dock, my feet dangling in the water. Finnick does the same.

"Can I ask you something?", I ask shyly.

"Of coarse. Please, ask away." He smiles encouragingly at me. I wanted to ask him about the games. What were they like? How does he deal with the memories? This year my name will be put in 6 times. I know that there is a very slim chance I will be chosen, but just in case.

"What were they like, the games?", I blurt out, not even thinking about how this question could effect him. He just stares off into the ocean, expressionless.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about-"

"No it's okay. I understand your curiosity. It's...life changing. You shouldn't worry about it.",he says quickly. Well why shouldn't I?

"Why shouldn't I?", I repeat my thoughts.

"Because you wouldn't be able to handle it, at all." he says flatly.

"What? Are you saying that I'm weak?!", I say this, slightly raising my voice. I have been called a weakling all my life and I have just about had it. I stand up and so does he.

"Well you're not exactly strong, are you?", he says slightly annoyed. That's it. That's all it took for me to snap. Before I could stop myself I am shoving him off of the dock. He hits the water with a huge splash, and that's when I realize this won't end well.

As his head pops up out of the water, there is a shocked look on his face. He looks up at me and I am preparing for the worst.

"Now your gonna get it", he says playfully. Oh no. I am not in the mood for a swim today. I turn and run as fast as I can in the opposite direction. I turn my head and he is no where to be seen so I stop running. Just when I think he probably swam away or something I turn around. Some how he got in front of me. before I can react he is pulling me into a big, wet hug. I try to escape but I can't. He is just to strong. Now I am laughing and when he lets me go I am soaking wet. We both continue laughing and start walking back towards my boat.

"Thanks a lot", I say sarcastically.

He smiles and winks at me as he wrings out his shirt. His wet shirt sticks to him, making his muscles even more noticeable. I catch my self staring and turn away blushing slightly. As we approach my boat I turn to face him.

"Well this has been fun, but I should probably go now.", I say simply.

"Yeah. So, I'll see you at the reaping tomorrow.",he says this with a depressed look on his face as he runs his hands through his wet hair.

We turn and walk in opposite directions. I am opening the door to my boat when I hear Finnicks voice.

"Oh and Annie!"

"Yeah?"

"You are definatley not weak", he smiles as he says this. He then winks, turns and walks away.

I smile to myself. Okay. I can't deny it anymore. I think I kinda like him...DAMMIT!


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! So, if you are liking this story so far please review. Your support really helps. So, yeah, enjoy!**

I woke up the next morning with a giant smile on my face, remembering my walk with Finnick the night before. No Annie! You don't know him well enough. It could all be an act. I feel something in the pocket of my sweater. It's the small rope Finnick gave me. I start playing with it when I realize the reaping will start in a couple of hours and it does distract me. Genius.  
I suddenly hear a knock on the door. As it slowly creaks open I see the face of Desmond.

"Hey sleepy head. Time to get ready, the reaping is soon. What's that... is that a rope?",he asks curiously.

"Uhh, yeah", I say as I stare off into the distance, with a smile. "Finnick gave it to me. It takes my mind off of... everything."

Anger fills his expression."I don't trust him Annie, no one does." I smile to myself at what I am about to say.

"You don't know him well enough to make a judgement.", I say thinking of Melva. She was right. You can't judge someone you don't know. I still don't know him well enough, but I know more. So far, I like what I know. Desmond leaves with so much anger I seriously think he might explode. I go to my closet and grab my reaping dress. It is a knee length, dark blue, strapless dress. It is a simple summer dress, but it is beautiful and I love it. I pull on a thin, white cardigan over it and some black flat shoes. I then brush my hair and put in a simple fishtail braid. As I walk out of my boat towards the town square where the reapings take place every year, I take in the scent of the ocean. The saltiness soothes me.

As I approach the square I hear the cries of fear. I see the pained expressions on every mother, father and child's face. It sickens me. I passionately hate the capitol, with every fiber. It's disgusting how they force children to do this every year, and somehow, get joy from it.

"Hey! Annie! Wait up!" It's Melva, wearing a bright pink summer dress. we walk together towards the finger pricking station beside the town square. Some people say that the point of the finger pricking is just so that they can use the blood to generate mutts in the games. I doubt it because they don't take the blood and put it in a test tube or anything. They just prick your finger, take your bloody fingerprint on a sheet of paper and then that's it.

When I reach the front of the line, the mean finger pricking lady aggressively grabs my hand, picks up they finger pricking thingy and stabs my finger carelessly. I cringe when she does this; it hurts a lot more than you think.

When Melva's done we file into the 17 year old girls section and glance up at the stage. The reaping should start in a couple minutes. Up on the stage are this years mentors for District 4 and our escort from the capitol, Lucinda Silver. She is annoyingly happy all the time, making me hate her even more. I mean, how can you be so happy when a week from now, 24 children will start murdering each other without a second thought.

"OMG! Annie look!", Melva says pointing to where Finnick Odair is seated on stage. He is wearing a gray suit with a white v-neck t-shirt underneath.

"Doesn't he look so gorgeous in that suit?". She is right, he does look pretty good. But I refuse to tell her this.

"Meh." She glares at me as I say this, which makes me laugh. I toss another quick glance to where he is sitting and our eyes meet. He gives me his usual grin and then winks at me, which makes me blush. He is sitting next to Mags, the other mentor. Her gray hair sways in the wind as she stares at the ocean with sad, wrinkled, eyes.

Lucinda gets up from her chair and walks over to the microphone. Her hideous outfit makes me cringe. She is wearing a silver dress shaped like a ball, silver heels that are so high it's a miracle she hasn't broken her ankle, and a silver wig shaped like a fish. It's awful. I guess she tried to incorporate her name into her outfit (Lucinda Silver) along with a fish on her head to represent District 4. Yikes.

"Good morning District 4!", she says excitedly. "Are you as excited as I am? This year is the 70th Annual Hunger Games! This year the games are going to be excellent, and as always, may the odds be ever in your favor." As she says this last line I mock her by mouthing it while doing a really stupid face. This not only makes Melva laugh, it makes Finnick laugh to. He must have been watching me.

"How about we start with the men this year.", she says as she walks over to the male bowl. She sticks her hand in and ruffles them around. She then pulls one out and walks to the microphone.

"District 4's male tribute is, Casper Lock.", she says very excitedly. The 18 year old boy section separates as a slightly tall and very muscular boy walks up to the stage confidently. Must be a career.

"Now, for the ladies.", she says as she prances over to the female bowl. She sticks her hand in and ruffles the slips of paper around for what seems like an eternity. It's like everything is in slow motion now. She finally picks out a slip and walks back over to the microphone.

_Don't worry Annie. your name is only in there 6 times. Don't worry Annie. Don't worry._ I try to calm myself down by telling my self this over and over. I have a bad feeling about this for some reason.

"Your female tribute is..." She unfolds the sheet of paper and smiles as her mouth opens to tell us who it is. I already know who it is before she even says it.

"Annie Cresta"


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi! Thank you so much to everyone who reads/reviews this story! I really appreciate it! So heres the next chapter, enjoy!**

**Chapter 7**

Did I just get reaped? No, I couldn't have... right? I hear Melva start to cry and I realize that I, Annie Cresta have just been reaped to go and kill other children in an arena. Oh God. Everyone is now staring at me as they clear a path for me to walk to the stage.

"Come along dear, don't be shy!", Lucinda says as she smiles excitedly at me. I start to walk slowly toward the stage with my head held high. I try to look rather expressionless and fearless as I do so, I wouldn't want other tributes to think of me as an easy target. As I start walking up the stairs to the stage, I look at Finnick. He just stares at me in shock. I can tell he is sad and scared for me. He doesn't want me to have to go through this... or die. I stand next to Lucinda, facing the rest of District 4. I feel hope as I remember that District 4 is a career district. Surely someone will want to volunteer for me.

"Volunteers?", Lucinda asks as if she was reading my thoughts. We wait for a few seconds but no one does. Not even the careers that are always so eager to kill. A wave of sadness washes over me but I make sure no one can tell. Well I hope no one notices.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our tributes for District 4- Casper Lock and Annie Cresta!" Lucinda sounds so excited, not even the slightest bit of sorrow in her voice. When she says this, everyone just remains silent. Only a few seconds later, two peacekeepers are grabbing hold of my arms and leading me into the justice building. They bring me to a room meant for the goodbyes. As they leave I flop onto the leather couch and sob into the cushions. I wonder how many tributes have sobbed into the cushions of this couch. Probably lots before me. The door then swings open and Desmond appears in the doorway with actual tears streaming down his face. I have NEVER EVER seen him cry before, even when he was younger. This makes me cry harder. I run over to him and hug him tightly. I am gonna miss him. I am positive I will not be coming back. But maybe there is an upside to this. I will finally get to be with my mother when I die.

"Promise me you will try with all of your might to win this thing. Please. I don't know what I would do if you died.", He sobs. I just hug him even tighter.

"I promise that I won't go down without a fight. Okay? Now stop crying you big wuss!", I say playfully to him through tears. He just smiles and continues to hug me. The peacekeepers come and have to drag him out because of all of his resistance. Then Brett runs in and immediately pulls me into a hug. I feel his tears on my shoulder and hug him tightly.

"Just don't die out there, Ann. We can't lose you.", he says in a weak voice. He was the only person that called me Ann. I'm gonna miss him so much too.

"Will do", I say sadly just as the peacekeeper comes in and pulls us apart. Melva comes in immediately after and flings herself at me. We just stand there for the 2 minutes we have crying and hugging. When the peacekeeper comes to take her out she says the last thing she will ever be able to say to me.

"Remember who the real enemy is, Annie." And with that the door slammed shut. What does she mean? _Remember who the real enemy is._ I probably shouldn't dwell on it though, I've got more important things to worry about, like, dying. I sit back on the couch and pull my knees up to my chest. I just stare out the window at the ocean for a few minutes before the door opens again. I don't even bother to see who it is.

"Time to go to the train", says a deep and familiar voice. I turn my head to see Finnick watching me, a depressed look on his face.

I follow him down the hall towards the door leading to the train. When we step out my heart stops when I see this magnificent machine before me. It is long and shiny and looks very high tech. The works of the capitol, most likely. Finnick notices I've stopped and turns around. He chuckles when he sees me staring, mesmerized by this...thing.

"What is that?!", I ask excitedly. He just stares at me with an amused grin.

"It's a train.", he says.

This was a train? I had heard of them but I didn't expect them to be so...cool. I am so mesmerized by the train that Finnick takes my hand in his and leads me into the train. I didn't want him to let go. STOP IT ANNIE! His hand was slightly rough but warm. When we get in the train I gasp. It was even more beautiful on the inside. Finnick just laughs at this. I playfully glare at him as we walk towards the dining room. I didn't even realize that we were still holding hands until we get to the dining room and Lucinda glares at me. We pull our hands apart quickly and act as if nothing happened. As I take the seat across from Finnick and beside Lucinda I notice she is still glaring at me. So I take the opportunity and glare back at her. She is obviously taken aback by this and stops glaring. I can tell Finnick is having a hard time containing his laughter. And is it not weird of a 30 year old woman to have a crush on an 18 year old? Everyone knew she liked him, though. she was always staring and drooling over him before and after the reapings. Eww.

"So, let's eat dinner and then watch the recaps, alright?", Mags says sweetly to us. Casper and I both nod and then dig into the wide variety of food on the table. It is the most delicious food I have ever had in my life. And I hate myself for loving it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors note- Sorry it took me so long to update this chapter! But here it is. And don't be afraid to review my story so far, it really helps motivate me. Enough of me talking now, back to Finnick and Annie...**

**Chapter 8**

After I am finished pigging out I lean back in my chair and pat my stomach. I have never felt completely full to the point of possibly barfing before. When I am finished rubbing my belly I decide to start getting to know Casper, he is my district partner after all. But before I can even open my mouth Finnick starts talking.

"Casper, have you done training?", he asks very seriously.

"Of course I have!", Casper says very sure of himself.

"What can you do?"

"Well, my weapon of choice would certainly be an ax. I can decapitate a dummy, and definitely a real person, with one from 30 feet away." Wow. That is kind of disturbing. Casper turns to me with a confident smile, but when he sees the worry in my eyes he changes it to a reassuring smile. I have decided that I don't hate him. Finnick turns to look at me and I find myself lost in his eyes again. What the hell Annie!

"Annie, what can you do?", he asks curiously. I so desperately want to shout at him that I can't do shit, but I don't. Instead I mutter it to myself.

"I can't do shit". Unfortunately I mutter it too loudly and they hear it. Casper chuckles to himself as I say it. Finnick just stares continuously at me with those amazing green eyes of his. I start to shift uncomfortably under his stare and he notices.

"Come on, Annie. Everyone has some sort of hidden talent."

"Well if it's hidden, how would I know what it is?" Ha. Beat that Finnick. He just chuckles and and stands up.

"We should probably watch the recaps now.", he says. "I wanna see who you're up against." Oh god. I almost forgot about our competition. I wonder what huge, killing machines will come from districts 1 and 2. This thought sends a shiver down my spine. .

We walk over to the couches and find mags is already there, waiting.

"About time." She mutters to herself. Casper sits next to mags leaving the other couch for Finnick and I. Thank you so much Casper. Just as we sit down the T.V. turns on and the recaps begin. I didn't even notice how nervous I was until I realize how hard I have been biting my lip. I only do that when I am genuinely terrified. It is actually starting to bleed quite a bit. I try to hide it with my hands and wipe the blood away.

District 1, as always, is first. Before the escort even puts his hand in the bowl a tall, terrifying, muscular girl lunges forward to volunteer. Her name is Amethyst. I will refer to her as Amy for short. Almost immediately after Amy volunteers a huge, and I mean huge, boy that looks be about my age volunteers. His hair is ink black and his eyes are like black holes. He smiles menacingly as he walks to the stage, showing pearly white teeth. He has bulging muscles and is quite attractive. His name is Bronson. I will have to keep an eye out for District 1.

"Don't trust them.", Finnick says sternly.

"But how can you be so sur- "

"Trust me. I know what I'm talking about.", he cuts me off. He's probably right.

Next is District 2. As usual their tributes volunteered and seem pretty terrifying. The girl has fiery red hair and dark, scary eyes. She is actually quite short but has incredibly muscular arms. The boy is tall and slender but has a look in his eyes that tells me that I should be afraid of him. Their names were Crusia and Vick.

"Don't trust them either.", Mags says. We don't question her.

Not surprisingly, District 3 provides two skinny twelve year olds that look as if they may pass out. Their names are Shalene and Dylan.

Then I see myself. I almost look bored as I walk to stage. I look fearless and indifferent. I look like... a career! Finnick nods his head in approval and whispers "Good job. You look like you couldn't care less. No one will be underestimating you." I can't help but grin at him and he winks at me. I roll my eyes and turn back to the television. District 5 and 6 have twelve and thirteen year olds that don't look promising. District 7's girl looks about sixteen and is being strong but I can see the fear in her eyes. But she is very tall, and that can be good. Her name is Vern. The boy from District 7 is pretty muscular and looks to be sixteen or seventeen. He seems eager and tough but something about him tells me he is softer that he looks. His name is Edger.

There is nothing special about the tributes from Districts 8, 9 and 10. They are all fourteen and fifteen year olds that look completely horrified. None of them really seem like a threat, which is weight lifted off my shoulders. But that weight is back on and twice as heavy when I see the tributes from District 11. They are both muscular and terrifying. They are almost as scary as the boy from 2. I shudder as I see the walk onto the stage. What is with all of the hopeful tributes this year!? This is twice as much as there usually are. I will just have to be extra careful.

I look over at Finnick and see a slightly worried look on his face. Even he knows I have no chance of winning. Casper on the other hand, has a good chance. I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to give up on me and just mentor him. I'm hopeless.

The names of the tributes from District 11 are Kimberly and Morgan.

And then there is District 12. Their mentor, Haymitch is drunk as always and is falling of of his chair. The tributes look to be thirteen and weak. I can already tell that they aren't going to last very long.

When it's over I get up and walk to my room without saying a word. I just fall face first onto my bed and start sobbing. I am never going to see my brothers ever again. I will never get to see Melva ever again. I am never going to hear the waves crashing against the shore and I am never going to feel the cold ocean water on my skin ever again. Everything I love will be gone, forever, and there is nothing I can do about it.

**Author's Note- Again I am really sorry it took me so long to update. And sorry this chapter was a bit of a downer. I promise the next chapter will be happier and more eventful! Thanks for reading and REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!**


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